The Importance of Juries and Their Impact on Court Cases

The legal rights of citizens are very complex. However, they are very necessary. American legal rights were created during a time when early American settlers had very little rights. Jurors play a critical role to the legal system because they help to determine the outcomes of cases with a judge. Jury selection and their verdicts are important parts of the various civil and criminal cases. Keep reading to discover how juries contribute to the legal process in American law. The Purpose of a Jury Juries were given a prominent role in the American legal system when the Constitution was being created. According to Wikipedia, these legal precedents were established in Articles 3, 5, 6 and 7 of the Constitution. They have been designated by the founding American Fathers (original writers of the Constitution) to protect citizens from unfair accusations and legal prosecutions by people in power. Juries are used for civil and criminal cases. The main role of all juries is to figure out if a defendant is guilty or innocent based on the facts that have been presented in their particular case. They also work under the direction of a judge appointed to the case they will be deciding. Juries oftentimes have to make a tough decision about a person’s guilt or innocence in a legal matter. Jury SelectionPotential jurors are chosen from a pool of qualified individuals who have been summoned for jury duty. These individuals are taken through a process called voir dire which simply means “to speak the truth. The defendant’s legal team and the prosecutor will both examine jurors to determine who is best suited for a case. Many jurors will be dismissed but judges can override a legal team’s rejection of a juror. Once jurors have been selected, alternates will also be chosen. Alternates will be used in the event that a primary juror is removed from a trail for some reason. A jury selection los angeles ca also work this way. The American Bar Association provides more information about the jury selection process. Characteristics of JurorsCourts need jurors who are honest, that has good judgment and are fair. These characteristics are hard to find in many people. However, there are plenty of people that have these attributes. Jurors also are required to keep quiet about cases and not say anything about what is happening. This is especially true in high profile cases. Remember that some courts will actually “detain” jurors until the case is over, so they cannot speak with anyone about a particular legal situation that is unfolding. Many jurors might not be able to see their families or go to work during this time. In some cases, jurors are even separated from each other. While this might seem to be a bit unfair and extreme; courts are trying to protect the outcomes of a case and court parties rights. They want to make sure that all cases are free from manipulation, bias and unrelated nonsense. All of these negative factors can cause a case to change dramatically. Finally, jurors are important to the legal process because their decisions can have a serious impact on a person’s life for good or bad.